Accelerated

[yennico]

I will make a further analysis of your template at Monday because I now enjoy my weekend with my non-RPG girlfriend.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I like it.
Why not just specify that the damage taken while sleeping cannot be healed by the fasthealing ability of the template.

 

[Roudi]

Why not just specify that the damage taken while sleeping cannot be healed by the fasthealing ability of the template?

Well, for one, the Accelerated doesn't take damage while sleeping... I probably should specify that, as someone could interpret being asleep with not moving and rule that an Accelerated takes nonlethal damage while sleeping.

Secondly, Fast Healing had to be changed because, in its old form, it would have healed any nonlethal damage before it got high enough to knock someone out (unless it was a first level spellcaster with a bad CON modifier). The way it is now, Fast Healing does not heal the damage from Restless Body, and thus makes it possible for unmoving Accelerated charaters to get knocked out.

 

[yennico]

Here my analysis.
Part one: the template

I would compare your template with a creature temporary or like your template pemanent enhanced with the haste spell.
To enhance a creature with the haste spell you need a wizard/sorcerer level 5.

Accelerated is a template that is added to any living creature that imbibes lulaz once a day.

An accelerated needs one dose of lulaz every day. That is pretty hard. He always needs to carry some stock of lulaz with him.

Speed: Increase the creature’s base land speed by 15ft.

hmmm a barbarian only gets 10 ft. An accelerated halfling is now as faster as an normal human. This rate is lower than the rate gained by a haste spell.

Armor Class: The creature gains an inherent +4 dodge bonus to AC.

Haste 3.5 grants only a +1 bonus to AC. In addition to your +4 dodge bonus your template also gains bonus to AC by the bonus to dex. So an accelerated humanoid has at least AC 10 +4 (dodge bonus) +3 (dex bonus).

Attacks: The creature may make one extra attack each round at her highest base attack bonus when making a full attack action.

This is a very big advantage. A fighter needs six levels to get an extra attack, but his extra attack is not at his highest attack bonus.
In difference to the haste 3.5 spell your accelerated humanoid also can make an extra spell as an extra attack.

Think about an accelerated halfling rogue 1/wizard 1 with two sneak attacks with the ray of frost spell. He wears no armor but with his high dexterity and some magic spells (mage armor or shield) his AC his pretty high. If he runs out of spells he will attack with his short bow twice per round. Level six characters perhaps can survive this encounter but not level five PCs.

Too Fast for Gravity (Ex): When running, an accelerated moves so fast that she can avoid sinking on semi-solid surfaces. An accelerated may make a full-round run action over surfaces like water or quicksand as if they were solid surfaces. If the accelerated stops running, this ability stops functioning and the character sinks as normal. The accelerated may also make part of a move action up a vertical surface, as per the Up the Walls psionic feat. This ability does not function in heavy armor or while encumbered.

I do not know of a spell in the SRD which duplicates this effect but this ability is permanent and also duplicates the effect of a feat. Is this a spell-like ability ? can this ability dispelled?

Expeditious Retreat (Sp): 3/day, as the spell, except the duration is one minute per hit die.

No one can outrun an accelerated humanoid

Blurred Motion (Su): Whenever an accelerated makes a run or full attack action, she acts as though under the effect of a blur spell (20% miss chance) until her next turn.

A permanent blur spell.

Live Fast Die Young (Ex): The strain put on the accelerated creature’s body by its addiction to lulaz and its various abilities leads the creature to lead a far shorter lifespan. Accelerated creatures only live for 1d4 years after they begin consuming lulaz. Once that time is up, they die as though they had died from natural causes.

This is not really a big disadvantages for adventurers because most of them do not die because of old age

Restless Body (Ex): An accelerated only needs 4 hours of rest a night. Accelerated spellcasters only require 4 hours of rest before being able to prepare or cast new spells for the day.

Now a adventure party has a guard for most time of the night

However, an accelerated’s body will not willingly go to sleep. An accelerated must use alchemical or magical means of putting their bodies to sleep in order to rest at all. Also, accelerated creatures are adversely affected by remaining motionless for more than an hour. For each hour spent in a relatively inert state (aside from sleep), the accelerated suffers 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. The number of hours is cumulative in respect to the nonlethal damage dealt each hour; for example, if Jukk is inactive for two hours, he is dealt 1d4 after the first hour and 2d4 after the second hour. Because of the short durations of most sleep spells, and the fast metabolism which works through sleeping potions in half the time, most accelerated creatures suffer from fatigue and insomnia. Some are known to simply try and keep still for a while, letting their restless body knock itself out. An accelerated creature will only awake once all nonlethal damage has been healed or four hours has passed, whichever occurs first.

Accelerated humanoids with a high saves will have a problem with sleeping (thinking of an accelerated paladin )
The best friend of an accelerated humanoid is the strong fighter of his adventure band who will knock at request the accelerated out.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Dex +6

+6 to dex means +3 to: AC, ranged combat, reflex save and with weapon finesse to bab.
A humanoid with a high dex aquiring the template can not wear any armor because most armor limit the dex bonus to +6.
An accelerated wizard with a high dex can not polymorph himself into a creature with similar high dex.

Challenge Rating: +2

Level Adjustment: +4

I not good at guessing CRs and LAs but the LA and CR seem a bit to low.
One additionbal attack + dex bonus + dodge bonus + bonus feats + fast healing is IMHO more than LA +4.

 

[yennico]

Here's a quest idea... a local dragon is terrorizing the populace, and after some research, the people find out that it's an Accelerated dragon. Their quest could lead them straight to the dragon, or it could lead them to whoever's supplying the dragon with lulaz... the hope being that the dragon would be easier to take down while undergoing lulaz withdrawal...
Not a bad idea at all.

This is really a bad idea. Most dragons are intelligent. They have a very long lifespan and can learn magic. After learning magic: 5 levels sorcerer or wizard they can gain similar benefits with the haste spell without reducing their lifespan. Dragons normally have no need for the accelerated template. A dragon need not to outrun his enemies he can fly away.

I remember the class: dragon juicer in Rifts: a juicer who uses magical altered dragon blood to boost his abilities.

IMHO the accelerated template is for orcs and humans.

 

[yennico]

Part two: the drug

The accelerated template is acquired by the lulaz addiction. This is a nice idea.
IMHO acquisition of the template also can be a unknown side-effect of drinking to much haste potions (e.g. chance of acquistion 1% per haste potion)
If you can acquire the template only by the addiction you have to think more about lulaz.

I do not know if there rules for drug creation, addiction, etc exist or where they are listed but you have to read them and to create lulaz by the rules.

You ask why? Because there are so many unanswered question.
Here a list.
Who created the drug? The military as an combat drug? Was the drug a failed experiment of an single alchemist so the availability of the drug is very limited?
IMHO lulaz is with the possibility of acquisition of the template a combat drug used by the military. Some of the lulaz users are certainly volunteers but some not.
How addictive is lulaz? Are you addicted after your first use of lulaz?
Which are the effects of lulaz for a firsttime user? Bonus to dex, boost of speed, etc.. ?
After how much uses you get addicted and after how much uses of lulaz the addicted gets the template?
In a world with magical healing is there a chance for curing the addiction?
What happens to an accelerated humanoid if he is the target of a cure disease/addiction spell?
What happens if an accelerated humanoid is target of a negate poison/toxin spell?
What hapens if a dose of lulaz is target of a negate poison/toxin spell?
How much does lulaz cost in your world? How much does a dose of lulaz weigh (for transporting more than one dose of lulaz.
I would reduce the rate of doses because with one dose a day an accelerated humanoid only think about his next dose.

If you want to get rid of the drug design and acquistion of lulaz think about a parasite whose body fluids have the same effect of lulaz. With a parasite I would gave the template a bonus to saves especially will saves like domination.